SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The 2021 Frontier League Champion Schaumburg Boomers totaled 11 hits and had the tying run at the plate in the ninth but suffered a fourth straight defeat, dropping a 5-3 decision to the Washington Wild Things in the opener of a weekend series.

Washington opened the scoring in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Wagner Lagrange. The Boomers plated a pair of runs quickly in the bottom of the second to grab a 2-1 advantage. Matt Bottcher led off the inning with an opposite field single and scored when Chase Dawson tallied his 11th triple of the year up the first base line. Clint Hardy lifted a sacrifice fly to give the Boomers the lead.

Jared Mang homered to tie the game in the top of the third and Washington scored three runs with two outs in the fifth to jump ahead. Rob Whalen retired nine straight on the hill for Washington leading into the ninth. Bottcher opened with his third hit of the game and scored on an RBI double from Cris Ruiz but Washington closer Lukas Young shut the door to seal the win.

Erik Martinez allowed five runs in 5.2 innings of work, striking out seven, but suffered the loss. The bullpen did not surrender a run in 3.1 scoreless frames. Kristian Scott induced a groundball to trap runners at the corners in the sixth. Aaron Glickstein struck out the side in the seventh, Thomas Nicoll fanned two in the eighth and Michael Slaten struck out the side in the ninth. The pitching staff recorded 15 strikeouts in the contest while only issuing two walks.

Eight of the nine batters in the lineup posted hits led by three from Bottcher. Bottcher owns 15 multi-hit games in 29 contests this year. Ruiz logged two. Brett Milazzo made an outstanding play in center in the second and extended his on-base streak to 24 with a leadoff single, which also extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

The Boomers (14-15) continue the weekend series tomorrow night at 6:00 pm with RHP Blake Stelzer (1-2, 4.24) on the mound against RHP Daren Osby (2-2, 5.40). The Boomers will wear specialty jerseys on Looney Tunes Night that will be auctioned off the benefit The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity Chicagoland. The night will also feature creativity stations throughout the ballpark as well as postgame fireworks. Tickets for the 2022 season are on sale now! Visit boomersbaseball.com.